The Florence based architectural practice Archea Associati recently finished this monolithic concrete ensemble for the new public library and an auditorium in Curno, north of Milan.

Curno Public Library and Auditorium, photo by Pietro Savorelli

“The project is located inside a larger area, meant to be a school and community services complex, and posits itself as an element generative of a different dimension of public space, capable of designing a new square, a contemporary theater and its extension and stairs, is a reinterpretation of the traditional cavea: a space for meditation and observation.
The project, which covers about 2,000sqm, is a monolith of concrete pigmented with iron oxides, completely decorated with a bas-relief engraved with the letters of the alphabet. The main image in the perspective, which looks towards the square, recalls that of an open book whose words, engraved in the pages, enrich and give identity to the bare surfaces of the cement.”

Curno Public Library and Auditorium, photo by Pietro Savorelli

“The structure, divided by a long corridor bounded by a concrete double wall, visually connects the square to the back of the middle school and identifies two distinct parts that contain within them the main functions: the Auditorium and the Library. The presence in a single building of two distinct functions is obliged to maintain compliance with fire prevention regulations, a clear separation between the two activities, providing them with a zone-filter. The central corridor constitutes the true backbone of the project with structural as well as plant features, while the two concrete 40cm walls make up the carrying structure for the Auditorium cover, for that of the reading room, as well as accommodation for the air-conditioning system, and the distribution of electricity and fire prevention system.”